


just don't go without me

by michiko (afire)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, i can't do pure angst, i hope i got better at writing this gdi, it turns into fluff sort of im
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-05-07 01:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5438504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afire/pseuds/michiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy has to make a decision and sometimes Annabeth debates on whether it's the right one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just don't go without me

_"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."_

_Percy thought he could detect a hint of sympathy, even disappointment in Hades' voice, but now was not the time to nitpick on the God of the Underworld's emotions, or lack thereof._

_"Please- please there's got to be something. You rule the dead goddamnit! There has to be something you can do! Anything!"_

_It couldn't end like this, it just couldn't. After they had quite literally walked through hell holding on to each other, Percy couldn't let her go because of something so fickle. Out of all the things that could have killed her, Kronos coming back for revenge, the last remnants of the Earth mother's giant children, even Arachne. It had to be this. A bloody mortal who had had too much to drink and too little to live for. An outing to scope out local colleges had gone awry, and only Percy was left to pick up the pieces, or what was left of them._

_"I'll give you anything, i- I'll do anything just please. Please you have to bring her back."_

_Perhaps it was a sudden spark of kindness within the God, or the more likely case, Nico Di Angelo's hand on his arm, but Hades blinked once before standing up._

_"A life is very valuable, especially one that has been through so much. There is little to nothing that can be exchanged for it."_

_Here the God of the Underworld pauses, and seems to weigh his options. "I believe you have heard the saying, a life for a life."_

_Percy stiffens, head snapping up. "I'll do i-"_

_"Not so fast Percy Jackson, promises mean a lot down here, you wouldn't want to make one that you'll regret. As I was saying, a life for a life. That would be the most obvious choice, but it seems here we have special circumstances. The life of a demigod, especially one of the Big Three, is worth far more than a soul that is already on its way down the River Styx."_

_Hades looks toward the direction of the River, as if he could see the ferryman and his boat. Percy wagered that the God probably could, this was his domain after all._

_"Now, I can bring her back, but everything has a price. You will have to forfeit your memories. All of them that include her. That is what you must give in exchange for a second chance."_

_Percy almost stops breathing. His memories. They want all his memories of her. It's probably the hardest decision he's had to make, from all that he remembers. Giving up all his memories of her, it'll be like giving up a chunk of himself. A very sizable chunk. But if he had to live the rest of his life without her, then Percy would be better off dead as well._

_"I promise my memories of Annabeth Chase, in exchange for her life, and a second chance for her to live."_

_A whisper of smoke escapes his lips, and Hades seems to catch it in a bottle._

_"I will see that you're not short-changed." he says, before vanishing and leaving Percy with his son._

_"That was foolish of you." Nico says, sitting down at the foot of his father's throne. His voice softens as Percy sits down as well, looking for all the world like he did give up his life. "Nothing can guarantee that you will fall in love again."_

_"As long as we're together, I'll take my chances." Percy says, blinking as Hades reappears in his throne._

_"Percy Jackson, the transaction will be complete once you leave the Underworld. You will find her in the hospital that you left her at, the doctors will claim it’s a miracle. You will agree and have no memory at all of this happening. She will be informed of the exchange by Nico."_

_Percy stands up, thanks the God of the Underworld and his son for their time before turning around and retracing his steps._

_"I hope you made the right decision Percy." is the last thing he hears before he steps out into the light._

* * *

 

The fluorescent lights in the hospital are really glaring. That's the first thing Annabeth notices as she opens her eyes. The second thing she notices is the feeling of confusion. The last thing she remembers is the screeching of tires and a very loud crash, and then she was sitting in a very familiar boat, led by someone wearing a black hood.

It hadn't taken very long for her to realize that she was dead and was currently being ferried to her judgement. After that, there was a gap in her memory and then Annabeth had woken up here, seemingly very much alive and very wrongly so. She tries to sit up and winces as her ribs protest.

There's movement in the corner of the room and Annabeth catches a glimpse of Nico Di Angelo talking in whispers to Sally. Still confused about why she was alive, Annabeth was about to ask Nico what was happening when he straightened up and moved fluidly toward the door. She thought he cast her a sympathetic look before leaving, but that may have just been the lights.

Sally stands up and makes her way to the side of her bed.

"What's happening?" Annabeth asks finally, voice faint over the beeping of her heart monitor.

"I think the most important thing now is to rest Annabeth, I'm sure-" here Sally breaks off and its then that Annabeth realizes that the room is missing a sizable chunk of dorky charisma.

"Where's Percy?" she asks, narrowing her eyes and looking around the room. He was probably getting some coffee for his mother, he would be back soon, right? Percy wouldn't leave before she woke up.

She shouldn't even have woken up.

Annabeth is pulled from her thoughts by the door opening again, if it was Nico she was prepared to demand an explanation, but it was Percy. He looked … confused, like he wasn't sure why he was there. But that was impossible, right? Percy knew why he was here, he definitely knew why he was here.

Annabeth tries to sit up again, and this time Sally is there to help her. "Easy there Annabeth, you have three broken ribs, a fracture in your femur and a concussion. The doctors say you're lucky to be alive."

Lucky to be alive, she shouldn't even be alive. Annabeth looks at Percy, who is standing in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets.

"What's up?" she asks, cocking her head to the side and reaching out for him. Knowing Percy, he was supposed to be sitting next to her bed, fingers intertwined with hers. Annabeth didn't say much, but she noticed. They both did. After Tartarus, it was just easier to be together.

"What- me? I'm uh, nothing much actually ha." Percy says, glancing at her hand and jittering about before coming forth to take it. He's not meeting her eyes, and the way he's behaving, it sounds as if … as if he doesn’t know who she is at all.

Annabeth is struck by a sudden, terrifying thought, and the look on Sally's face is more than enough to confirm her suspicions. That stupid, stupid boy. She would have leapt out of the bed to shake him, had she not had three broken ribs, she would have leapt out of bed to shake him and ask him why, why would he do such a thing? Her life was not worth his memories.

"Oh Gods Percy what have you done?" is all she says, voice barely a whisper as the boy she loves stands in front of her, a stranger after so many years.

* * *

 

Two months is not nearly enough to remember the girl that you've spent a large chunk of your life with. His mom has explained to him what happened, what he did, but for the life of him Percy cannot remember it happening at all. All he remembers is the minotaur, and then there's a blank in his memory. It's as if 6 years of his life hadn't happened at all.

It was impossible, of course, why would he give up his memory for the life of a girl he didn't even know? Annabeth seemed to know him though, they had been … dating? Before all this had happened, before the car crash that had apparently prompted him to demand a second chance from the God of the Underworld.

He's trying to get used to it, but it's admittedly not easy. Annabeth helps though, he has no memories of her but she still seems familiar in a way. It's like a very strong sense of déjà vu, one that Percy somehow retained even though all his memories of her are probably floating in the River Lethe somewhere.

She still loves him, and Percy is trying his best to wrestle the memories back from wherever they went. He owes her that much, for not turning away from him. Hell if the person he loved suddenly didn't remember him, Percy doesn’t know what he would do. But Annabeth is stronger than people give her credit for, she's held on for these two months. He can tell it's painful for her but she's still holding on, and for her, he needs to try to hold on as well.

He can see the hurt in her eyes whenever she taps him on the shoulder and he flinches at the sudden touch, or when she's walking too close to him and he steps to the side. Percy is not the kind of boy who would take advantage of the feelings of a girl who looks like she was taken apart too many times for the pieces to properly fit together again, but it hurts her whenever he acts like a stranger and Percy can't help but feel sorry that it’s the only thing he knows how to do.

"Tell me about … us. What did we do? Where have we gone?" he's asked this question so many times, but it seems as if there are an endless amount of stories concerning them both. If he doesn’t remember, then at least he will know.

"One time I thought you died." Annabeth says, sitting on the picnic mat opposite him. Sally had thought fresh air would do them both good, and Percy had agreed, so here they were in the park. He can't help but feel like they're sitting too far apart for it to be comfortable for her, but saying anything about it would probably just make things worse.

"We were on a quest, and somehow we both ended up in a volcano. It was going to blow, and I was yelling at you to run but you didn't want to." here she pauses and laughs lowly. "You would never have ran, I think I knew that, but it didn't stop me from trying to save you."

Percy hums and nods, showing that he's still listening. A volcano, he had been in a volcano that was just about to erupt and he hadn't ran away. He had learned more about himself this past two months than his entire life, though that wasn't much he supposed, considering the fact that he couldn't remember 6 years of it.

"When I got back to camp you weren't there, but I was so sure you weren't dead. You were Percy after all, you couldn't die. Chiron believed you were alive as well, but then a few days passed, and then a week, and then two. " Annabeth plays with her fingers, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Chiron thought you couldn't possibly be alive anymore, so we held your funeral. But you, being you, walked into your own funeral, very much alive. I remember feeling so relieved, I think it was then I realized I was in love with you."

Percy closes his eyes and rubs at his head. Annabeth's stories always gave him a light headache, like his memories were trying to fight their way to the surface. When he opens his eyes Annabeth is staring intently at him, and even this feels familiar to him, though trying to grasp anything more than the vague déjà vu that Percy is experiencing is like attempting to catch wind in his fists.

"Look, I know I've said this a million times before but I'm sorry." he can't imagine how it must feel to be Annabeth, spending time every day with him and trying to get him to remember how to love her. "I'm not the Percy you knew, I probably never will be, but I promise to try and be at least a little bit of the Percy you love."

She looks up at him and nods, finally letting herself smile slightly.

"That's something the Percy I love would say. " she replies, shaking her head slightly and taking a deep breath. Percy looks toward the ocean and smiles as well when his headache starts to ebb away.

"I think we'll be okay."

**Author's Note:**

> song title from c'est la mort by civil wars, thanks to bananannabeth on tumblr for all the advice


End file.
